The Game Cafe in Marvel and DC

41 – Infllux of Customers

[A/N: I am back, and I am alive. I have recovered from my Surgery and now I can start writing and working again, so expect future weekly updates, enjoy]

One week, an entire week passed, as suddenly the number of customers from Gotham surged.

I feared one of my more...notorious customers had gone and revealed my store somewhere, and in a public place, as suddenly overnight the number of men and women checking out the store suddenly increased, with most asking about the Virtual Reality Computers.

Most left after seeing the ridiculous prices of my services and products, but there were still plenty that came and purchased my products or used the VR computers. So much so that I was actually able to afford the expansion of the cafe itself, doubling its size. and only for the small price of five thousand US Dollars.

The rest of my money went to buying 10 more computers, meaning I had 20 computers for customer use now, but that was not enough as more and more came.

It was baffling. Why were there so many people that were coming to my store? Why so suddenly? It did not make any sense.

Shaking my head, I opened my eyes, gazing into the eyes of one of my new customers, Jason Todd, otherwise known as Robin and, possibly in the future, Red Hood, and also, a now frequent customer I found myself seeing at least once a day.

"The usual?" I asked, curious, only to receive a nod from the stoic boy who seemed only to know how to glare.

Reaching under the counter, I grabbed a bottle of Ice-Cold Nuka-XTreme and a bag of Gatorclaw Jerky.

"Plan on playing anything today?" I asked, curious.

He takes a moment to think, then nods before handing me some cash, enough for his food, drink, and a few hours of VR time.

To no surprise, he walked right to an unoccupied computer and jumped straight into Project Zomboid, where I noticed he took care of quite a bit of his...aggression.

He wasn't the only one, of course. I noticed a few other important figures who decided to check out my shop, with most of them having some impact in the comics or cinematic universes. 

After I did the math, I knew I now had more than 40 different customers, though whether most of the newer customers will become repeat customers remains to be seen. 

Of the customers, only around half of them had tried the VR computers, let alone had the determination to continue after their first session.

Other than that, I was sitting on around $4 thousand dollars, and I couldn't help but have a random thought.

Specifically, I was wondering what the hell happened to the cash I was getting from my customers and being cashed in by the system.

Surely, the US government would notice such a large sum being 'lost' and not returned to circulation, or at least significantly more than there should be.

Opening the system, I decided to investigate.

And after an hour of searching, I found it.

[Current Accepted Currency: Local Currency]

[Available Currency: Souls, Karma, Lifespan]

[WARNING: Adding or changing the accepted currency may result in an influx or reflux of customers]

So...that's big.

Without any hesitation, I chose all the available currencies.

I found the system gave me a bit more information about the currencies, so I decided to take a look at them.

[Local Currency - The Main currency accepted by the system and the most commonly used around the Store]

[Souls - Almost all life has souls, and not all souls are equal. You can now barter for the souls of the dead or even the still-living, and now your customers can barter with the souls they collect]

[Karma - Almost every action a being takes has Karma, good or bad. It does not matter. What does matter is the influence and strength of these Karmic Actions, and now, you can trade for the Karma these Actions have produced]

[Lifespan - Life is a very valuable resource in the universe, and you can now trade for a person's lifeblood, taking their lifespans in exchange for your goods or services]

Of the three, I could already see that Karma would be the most appealing to any notable figures, while the other two would be more appealing to those who can't afford to pay or buy with cash.

Closing the system, I focused on the computer in front of me and began writing an announcement that would be given to all the players currently occupied with their games.

"Good afternoon, my Customers. It's me, your lovely Eldritch entity, Zeref. As of 6:30 PM EST, new options have been made for purchasing the goods and services within the café. I will repeat, there are now new payment options available for those that find paying with cash to be too hard or difficult."

Not even a moment later, those who were not busy seemed to immediately pause their sessions and hop off before turning to me, curiosity or confusion clear in their gazes, especially a few of them.

Knowing they were curious, I waited for one of them to ask a question, and moments later, one did, specifically Harley Quinn.

"Watchu mean by that big man?" She asked, jumping out of her chair and stretching.

"Simple, why don't you come here, Harley? So I can show you all," I asked, watching as the woman skipped across the ground like an excited puppy.

When she was before me, I asked her to place her hand on the computer.

Checking the screen, I hid some details before turning the screen.

[Username: TheBestClown]

[Karma: 113,984 Points]

[Lifespan: 63 Years, 9 Months, 12 Days]

[Souls: 0]

"So, as you can all see, other than the regular option of paying with cash, you now have three other payment options available to you," I began, only to be interrupted by Mr. Freeze. "Excuse me, what exactly are these...other options that you are showing us?"

"Simple, in all honesty," I told them before continuing, "Lifespan is the simplest of all the options, being you use your own Lifespan to purchase goods or services, while the same can be said with Souls, only for Souls, it cannot be your own. As for Karma, think of it as a currency you can passively earn through actions that influence, change, or cause some impact in the world, no matter how small."

"Wait, Big Man. Are you saying we can pay with what time we have left, or sell the souls of whatever bastards we kill?" Harley spoke up before anyone else could.

"That's right," I informed them before clarifying, "Though for the Souls, you must be capable of capturing them yourselves and bringing them here."

"How do you expect us to do that?" A random thug asked.

"Simple. I don't. None of you here possess the necessary technology or mystical arts. So, I fear that payment option will be unavailable to you until there comes such a time you find yourselves capable of capturing and holding a soul," I explained.

"These... Karma points, how much are they exactly worth?" Killer Croc asked with a snarl.

"Well, for 250 Karma Points, you can get one hour in the VR Computer, or for a couple of points, you can get many of the food and drinks cheaper than what you'd have to pay with Cash," I explain, doing the math in my head.

Hearing that, I knew I had many of the poorer customers' attention, as Karma was essentially a way they could earn hours and goods for free by just doing what they were already doing. 

Meanwhile, while there now existed new ways to buy the basic goods and services of the Café, the Credit Store was still going strong as those associated with the Green seemed to be doing everything in their power to earn more credits. I knew they wanted the G.E.C.K., but I didn't think they'd want it that much. 

Especially since if they spend enough time in Fallout, they'd eventually learn how to make it themselves. Though that meant specking in multiple skill trees and maxing them out, I was not going to stop them. While they were serious about getting the credits to get the G.E.C.K, I could tell they were at least feeling like having fun, especially some of them.

Waylon, who was completely human in Fallout, was having a blast, becoming quite the social bird, having befriended quite a few of the NPCs, and even getting....rewarded by some of them by being a 'Hero.'

I am not going to lie. I felt bad for the big bad Croc and his backstory. Furthermore, I am glad he can feel 'Normal' and not be shunned in the VR Worlds as much as he was in the real world. I was also glad that due to his somewhat altruistic nature with the homeless who lived within the sewers of Gotham, he had more than enough Karma to play whenever he wished. He could even buy enough food and water for all of those under his care if he felt it. Though I doubt he realized that.

Perhaps I should speak to him? Monster to Monster.